My [24m] girlfriend [21f] is trying to “name-drop” me when I’m not even actually an important person, and it’s getting kind of annoying. Together 4 months.

So I work for the city. Not in any glamorous capacity, I’m a mechanic who works on city-owned vehicles. But from hearing my girlfriend Emily talk you’d think I was the City Manager’s assistant or something. Normally I don’t really care, but recently she’s started “name-dropping” me for stuff and it’s kinda getting on my nerves.

First example was a month and a half or something ago. I randomly got a message from her that said something to the effect of “Had to use your name today, but it got me out of a ticket, thanks! Hope you don’t mind!”

I asked her later what she meant and she said she got pulled over by the cops, and then somehow fit into the conversation that she’s dating agreeable_ground from fleet services. The cop then let her off with a warning. She seemed to think that saying my name is the reason, but that seemed a little farfetched to me. Some time later I did run into that cop when he had to bring his car in for services and asked him about it. He was planning on letting her off the whole time and he and his cop buddies had a slight chuckle at someone dropping my name on them.

I just had a chat with Emily that maybe dropping my name to get out of tickets is both unlikely to work and kind of shitty anyway, and she promised she wouldn’t do it anymore.

Then a few weeks ago she randomly asked me if I could “help out” her sorority with something. I actually have no idea what the crux of it was, but it had something to do with their house getting in trouble with the Code Enforcement guys. I told her that I’m not sure what she thinks I do at work, but I mostly just fix garbage trucks and have fuck-all to do with code enforcement. She just asked me to “pretty please” see if there was someone at work I could talk to. There is no one at work who could help with that and I told her so.

Then, just today, Emily’s sorority wants to work out some event in the spring and wants to try and partner (or something) with the local government and do it at the zoo. Apparently, without my knowledge, Emily told her governing council (or whatever the fuck they’re called) “Oh, my boyfriend works in the city government, he could probably get us an in!”

So now suddenly my phone is blowing up with sorority girls asking me if I could help them out with this thing, and no one seems to be hearing me when I tell them I’m just a fucking garbage truck mechanic. It’s like asking the guy at the Apple Store to get an inside view on their Board of Directors.

I do love Em, she’s a great girlfriend otherwise, but its like she turns into a spoiled wife with a poweful husband when I’m not even a powerful husband. I’ve talked to her twice about this junk and she keeps pulling out my name when she thinks it will benefit her.

TL;DR My gf keeps dropping my name like I’m some powerful important person when I’m neither, and I don’t really like being name dropped even if I was. Help?

clampie 1664

Tell your girlfriend to stop because it risks your job. If she cannot respect that, then she does not respect you. But you don't have to tell her that.

Have you said that? Exactly like that?

Agreeable_Ground 424

I told her it could get me in trouble at work, she promised not to throw my name around to cops anymore. She still apparently thinks I can get her the City Council’s ear or something though.

jimmyjrdanceparty 439

You need to tell her that this is a blanket thing - not just for cops, but for anyone. You do not want her using your name for any sort of leverage, favors, or connections. Full stop. I would not focus on the fact that it won't work (because that could be disputed in her mind) and more on the fact that it makes you uncomfortable. If she's not willing to stop doing something that makes you uncomfortable, that's a respect issue.

Crafty_Birdie 21

I agree. I think this is the approach to take and make sure she understands it’s non negotiable.

worrisomewaffle 80

has she been to your work before? like literally seen you, grease and oil covered, inside the building? i wonder if she just somehow is not realizing what exactly you do and would benefit from seeing you on the job. she probably thinks you spend time schmoozing with all these important people and just does not grasp what your job actually looks like.

given your interaction with the cop, it sounds like you have a good relationship with the folks whose vehicles you work on. but that could quickly change if she doesn’t cut it out.

i would ask her to stop by and pick you up for lunch or something one day. let her see the garage. then show her on the city’s website how she can find the contact information for the people she’s trying to connect with.

peopled_within 74

I would just drop this girl. She's got issues

marlod 22

Exactly. This says a little something about her character. Beauty fades and then what arises can either make you either incredibly happy or utterly miserable.

biblio_phile 1167

"and no one seems to be hearing me when I tell them I’m just a fucking garbage truck mechanic."

No advice here, just wanted to let you know I laughed out loud at this line. You are a very compelling writer.

hellofartness 434

but its like she turns into a spoiled wife with a powerful husband when I’m not even a powerful husband

Are you sure, cause you sound like a gold-digging whore who's just after that municipal garbage truck mechanic money.

freyasnecklace 10

Soon her enemy ‘s garbage is piling up. Why?

Mwahahahaha the garbage truck is still broke down!

Ironside_87 1

Not powerfull and not a husband.

Nyctanolis 113

This entire post is hilarious. I appreciate that OP hasn't fed the fire at least a little bit as far as how "important" he is. And it doesn't appear to have made a difference at all.

teamtwisty 50

This killed me I laughed so hard

Topsyturvy12 61

Me, too! If the situation weren’t so embarrassing for the OP or the risk of his job being affected, I think it’d be quite entertaining to see just how many perks this Em can get with his garbage truck mechanic title. OP, you may be selling yourself short;)

Harbetzerg 23

Hahaha! Laughed there too!

Tombo_64 21

It sounds like a sitcom episode plot really

ChaoticCryptographer 12

In the sitcom episode: he finally gets Emily to come see where he works. On that day the actual mayor happens to stop by and winks at OP (just general government shmoozing but not to Emily). Emily now thinks OP is stringing her along and he really does know everyone in government. Her sorority project reaches sitcom ridiculous heights, all hinging on OP having influence in government. It all naturally comes crashing down, everything's falling apart, but then comes OPs time to shine. While Emily's event is ruined, the main obstacle is a broken down garbage truck blocking the path. OP rushes over and fixes it, moves it out of the way, and the day is saved...except Emily continues throwing around their name.

MattAU05 15

The whole thing was well-written and gave me a good chuckle. I know it is more than a funny situation for the OP, but he did a good job of explaining it in a compelling way. You're more than a garbage truck mechanic OP, you're a pretty good Redditor too. Oh, but don't tell your girlfriend, or she might start name-dropping you to her internet service provider to try to get a discount or faster service.

The whole thing was well-written and gave me a good chuckle. I know it is more than a funny situation for the OP, but he did a good job of explaining it in a compelling way. You're more than a garbage mechanic OP, you're a pretty good Redditor too. Oh, but don't tell your girlfriend, or she might start name-dropping you to her internet service provider to try to get a discount or faster service.

freyasnecklace 3

I was going to say this. It is hilarious and weird. Emily is doing this. I’m going to name drop his username now.

OP- if she’s risking your job, she needs to stop that shit ASAP. She sounds like your biggest fan, though

sugarandmermaids 2

I did too. This is really funny.

ApprehensiveLecture 834

I wonder if this is something she has seen her mom/parents do?

Agreeable_Ground 936

Her dad’s a former detective so that......actually seems kind of likely now that i think of it.

floydgirl23 379

I wonder why she didnt name drop her dad to the cops then 🤔 im a cop, i get so many people try to name drop cop friends and family

wonderwife 248

Cop-wife, here. I would be absolutely mortified to mention my husband if I were stopped for some traffic infraction. If I'm dumbass enough to get pulled over, I want to be the first one who tells my husband, not his buddies.

I would never trade on his name to make my life easier... That's just trash behavior. Being a family of law enforcement shouldn't make you above the law; if anything you should be holding yourself to a higher standard than your average citizen.

If I goof up, I will own up and pay the damn ticket (only ticketed two times in my life. Both times when I was a teen, now in my 30's).

zandeandecamde 58

You have more morals than some people I guess.

RaineBearNW 42

I was thinking the same thing, I'm not going to embarrass my partner, parent, sibling, cousin or whatever with their co-workers to get out of a ticket. And I don't want to embarrass myself by using someone else's reputation to get what I want. Seems like a strange thing to do.

peopled_within 41

Being a family of law enforcement shouldn't make you above the law; if anything you should be holding yourself to a higher standard than your average citizen.

In theory that's great, too bad a huge percentage of people actually do act this way. You know they do.

Lord-Kroak

They literally make cop shield decals to put on your car so other cops know your family member is one

cat_romance 40

My great-uncle was chief of police in a town near me and once when a family member got stopped by a cop the cop was like, "oh, youre related to Chief Catromance's GU? No ticket" and the family member started begging for a ticket because in my family it was known that you never try to use GU's name to get out of shit.

The cop refused to ticket him though & the family member got ragged on for years.

GetitG

Oh please. You guys get your own little cards to flash of you get pulled over. I've seen it in action.

Batgrill

Exactly! I love your morals.

Agreeable_Ground 196

She’s from a different part of the country. I think California cops would care even less about some retired detective in Ohio than they would a fleet mechanic at the service center.

allycakes 58

I had a "friend" in high school whose father was a judge. She used to "accidentally" put his card in with her driver's license every time she got pulled over. She ended up not being very nice (this I guess was clue #1) and her father later made national news for getting into a fight in the courtroom.

butt__bazooka 22

My stepdad has worked in numerous LE positions and knows almost every officer in the state. He always asked me to hand over his biz card if I got pulled over/in trouble, but I'm prettyyyy sure it was just so they'd rat me out straight to him while I was a teen/young adult. I never did it because it was too embarrassing even if it would have helped.

ChipLady 23

My stepdad would introduce me to new officers by saying something like this is my daughter, if you pull her over she knows better so don't take it easy on her.

LawGrl22 12

My stepdad told me he wouldn't hesitate to give me a ticket or take me to jail (if the offense warranted it) if I was violating the law. He also told me to never call him and ask him to bail me out if I was ever arrested because if I was arrested, then I broke the law and deserved to be in jail.

He was a truly an amazing dad, though.

ChipLady 4

Same! But tough love worked out, I got a couple of speeding tickets, but I've always been too scared to get in real trouble because I knew it wouldn't end well for me.

butt__bazooka 3

Classic stepdad move. Why are they like this?

ChipLady 5

Haha. I don't know. At least that was less embarrassing than the this is my daughter, don't think about dating her speech.

underthetootsierolls 6

No joke! My mom was also in LE. All the cops knew me. They would “rat me out” when I was on high school trips during the day. It got to where if I saw one of them out and about I would wave and jokingly say, “don’t worry I’m not skipping school/ whatever you don’t need to tattle on my! Mom knows where I am guys.😁” still didn’t really work.

If I ever did something to get in trouble, the LAST thing I would do is tell I cop who she is/ that she is my mom. I would just pray they would take me to jail, not home to her. Sheesh!

Meowlyne 1

Lol the two times I've been pulled over in the city my dad works in I was let off, but my dad knew before I even left.

qevynu 19

NYPD union gives out get out of jail cards.

Formergr 4

God I miss having one of those!

johndecoded 8

I’ve got some extras from my Monopoly game.

SplotchyCOWS 4

My dad's a well known retired cop in my hometown and we have a pretty recognizable last name... Nothing more mortifying than one cop asking if I'm related to my dad, only to tell the arriving officer who then accused me of name-dropping. Thanks, but no thanks... Would almost rather get a ticket than deal with my dad's wrath for trying to "get out of a ticket". Please give me the ticket.... Lol

shereikk 1

Has it ever worked? lol

Meowlyne 1

I've only been pulled over 3x and I name dropped my dad the two times it was in the same city he works in, and he was behind me while I drove his car the third time lol. The first two were for speeding, the last one was for the license plate light being out. whoops

​

Do you find that super annoying?

ApprehensiveLecture 81

Maybe pointing that out might help, who knows?

Alamander81 13

They say we marry our parents.....

wibbitywobbitywoo 5

You guys may feel old and mature now but a lot of stuff is still being learned by experience. Give a good shot at talking her through the whole thing. I remember a few conversations where I just felt a switch flip and a better perspective show up in those days.

Then again some people stop learning and growing after high school, if she just can't listen/learn then don't nurture that habit. Do what you gotta do bro-stepher robin.

ScarOCov 4

So your gf is entitled and not very smart. It’s only been 4 months man, I’d run.

sneakatdatavibe 0

this. this right here is it. she has been classically conditioned from an early age to believe that connections in government are a free pass for everything. run. i once dumped a girl just because she slept with a cop... but related to one? RUN.

lalalorn 9

Ok I agreed with you right up until you said you dumped somebody cause they slept with a cop. whats that got to do with anything lol.

ForeverBlue3 5

Unless they slept with a cop to get out of an arrest for prostitution or something, you definitely seem like the immature one. That girl got off lucky.

sneakatdatavibe

collaboration with pigs is inexcusable

sthetic 801 SG

Tell her you've realized she's only dating you because of your powerful and influential position in society. You're sick of being used to get her out of tickets and book prestigious venues for her sorority.

Tell her that next time you date a girl, you're not going to reveal your status as a municipal garbage truck mechanic until you know she'd be willing to love you even if you were a mere executive assistant or corporate lobbyist.

Kussi 156

This is almost as good as OP's post.

OP, really sorry about the situation, but it's honestly hilarious. No advice from me, the others covered it really well.

Rickfernello 4

Just don't forget the sarcastic tone. Some people.might think this hilarious joke is serious.

Impetuous_Runner 401

lol yall are at different life stages.

She won't understand until shes a year out of college and working bro.

anythingnice2017 161

She’s a little power drunk on having a boyfriend with an adult job that’s associated with local government. Probably all her sisters are dating college boys with no jobs and she wants to feel special.

She’ll probably get over it in a few years but OP either needs to deal with the fact that she’s a little young and inexperienced or date someone not in college.

ducka_ducka_ducka 18

Yup! She’s 100% in on sorority life which guarantees she has no idea what real life post-undergrad is like. She’s romanticized your job and your “government connections”. It’s kind of cute actually. But not sure it’s worth it at this stage in your life.

anythingnice2017 5

I feel like a bunch of problems on here would be solved if people realized that if they don’t want to deal with college kids acting like college kids, then they need to date older people or wait it out.

flailing_uterus 147

Yeah she seems really immature lmao

danceswithkitties_ 96

She might just be an idiot honestly. It sounds like she thinks all govt workers go sit together and drink tea and discuss which sorority gets to use the zoo that day.

IRONLAPTOP 2

She really is an idiot. God that shit is annoying lol

Eating_Bagels 20

Yeah this is my first thought too. I mean, it’s kinda funny and I used to do this stuff too when I was her age. She’ll grow out of it if OP is willing to wait.

Ironside_87 -2

I stopped namedropping my father as a musician before high school.

meme_department 345

she promised she wouldn’t do it anymore.

Then she went and did it twice more. She doesn't respect your wishes.

She's using your name and reputation like she doesn't care what happens to you as long as she gets what she wants. She seems selfish or naive. My money is on selfish.

Set a hard boundary and if she crosses it then move on. You can find a more mature and respectful partner. After all, you have a swanky job in City Government.

allyychild 33

Naivety could also be an honest assumption. Maybe this is how she grew up. She’s in a sorority after all, they are groomed in ways that normal out of college women aren’t, just yet.

GetitG 22

Women don't act like this.

allyychild -1

And I’m sure you know exactly how women work and act at all times, no matter their backgrounds and how they grew up because all women are the same.

Get the fuck out of here.

LikeIsaidPotato 8

I think their point was that you were generalizing women. 🤔 I'm not going to claim whether you are or not, but yeah.

nobrow

They were generalizing sorority girls, not all women.

jumanjiwasunderrated 5

OP commented elsewhere that her dad is a retired detective. My money is definitely on "this is how she grew up." Definitely not the first time she's name dropped to get out of a ticket.

Skirtsmoother

You've gotta be shitting me. Do people like you actually breed?

zombiescooby 149

4 months in isn't long enough to deal with this. You've already told her not to do it and she still does.you should be in the honeymoon period and she's already showing her true self.

I'd also throw in that it sounds like title and status is important to her. Eventually she will realize that you don't have connections. You need to condiser what she'd do when she finally understands it.

Jelousubmarine 44

This! OP's story actually reminded me of this British comedy character Hyacinth Bucket ("it's bouquet!") from Keeping up Appearances who appears to be a 60 year old version of OP's gf.

theyear1200 123

The best way to shut down this nonsense is to tell all of her friends that you are no one important, you fix garbage trucks and you can't help them. Text every single one who contacted you and tell them the same thing.

The public shaming will help get it through her brain that she needs to cut it out with this bullshit.

Whapwhaaap 108

I’d say tell her to stop, but obviously that doesn’t work on her. Personally I would text every one of these sorority girls and say “Hey, sorry I’m not sure if gf has given you the impression that I’m some powerful hotshot, but I literally fix trucks! I have no power or sway over government officials. I have as much influence over these issues as you do, trust me.” Kind of make it jokey but very clear you cannot do what your girlfriend is saying. She’s doing this to brag and seem important, so taking her down a peg would probably help.

sweadle 76

She sounds like a child.

aidxn-1872 56

She doesn’t seem very intelligent. Or, emotionally intelligent. Perhaps a little ignorant or protected or just inexperienced for her age. Is she?

get_you_high_tonight 24

I feel like if someone actively demonstrates how dumb and disrespectful of boundaries they are several times in only four months of dating you should really listen loud and clear to those signals they're throwing out there. If not you'll only have yourself to blame when they make your life a living hell later on.

You know when people go through a messy breakup after their boyfriend or girlfriend turns into a total jerk or does something completely unhinged and they're like "This is so out of the blue, they seemed so normal and nice!" It's because they ignore stuff like this in the beginning. There are always plenty of signs.

justanotherfake90 40

“Sweetie, let me make something very clear. I make [X]k a year. No one gives a fuck about me. Stop dropping me name or I’ll be make zero, got it? If I hear about this again we are done.”

get_you_high_tonight 38

You've made it pretty clear that she's not supposed to do this and she keeps doing it.

I wouldn't trust someone like her.

TheFireflies 33

It sounds like she fundamentally doesn’t understand your job. Is she possibly from a smaller town, where government is smaller and more close-knit? Or could this be attributed to her lack of real-world experience? It sounds like you’ve been fairly explicit about what you do for work, so perhaps she’s not understanding the context.

I’d have a kind, but frank conversation with her. Your government organization is huge, and you are not someone of consequence there, nor do you know anyone of consequence. You’re very flattered that she thinks so highly of you, but she needs to accept that you can not provide favors, hookups, or handshake deals for anyone. Including her. Ever. This means the name dropping and requests for help using your job need to stop immediately.

Gauge her reaction. Does it seem like she’s really listening? Is she agreeing, but not taking it seriously? Is she outright refuting what you’re saying? This will be a strong indicator of her maturity — and the longevity of this relationship.

mlranda 12

This is probably it. In a small town in Ohio a mechanic working for the city is probably someone more wellknown and may even help with local politics.

lase_ 26

This reminds me of my family. A cousin of mine is a Vice President at a small local bank in my hometown. Having worked in banking myself and been around the block with bankers/realtors/etc, I came to realize that just about everyone who wasn’t a teller or a C-Level executive held a variety of the title Vice President. That is to say, a regular employee.

However, my family takes every opportunity to mention my cousins power and influence, because they don’t have the context to realize he isn’t actually the #2 guy at the bank. He is a middle manager just living life, and is always demure and somewhat embarrassed when people talk up his “status”.

The same thing is going on with your gf. She has no context of the working world, and so anything above a student is glamorous and powerful. Since asking her not to mention it didn’t work, you might try and see if you can provide her some of that context. Maybe plan a lunch date where she picks you up on your lunch hour and can perhaps get a glimpse of the regular ass world you live in?

Short of waiting until she gets a job, i’m not sure what else would get through to her.

rallywagonOBS 3

How many "my boss wont let me take lunch right yet" emergencies can you get away with while she waits in the parking lot before she realizes you're a peon. Go out to lunch in a poorly washed set of overalls with grease all over your hands enough, leave restaurant early to fix something dire.... let her see that you're the one that gets paid to work while the old guys are waiting and watching you (while being paid) let her see that you're a peon and then you can get a real metric on how she will be in the future.... is she supportive in your shit job? Or does she despise that you're at the lower end of the totem pole?

MinkySquirrel 22

As she has not yet joined the workforce, it's easy to understand why she's going overboard in thinking of you as a "big deal." It's actually very endearing, but you can't have being endearing jeopardize your job, of course.

It might be worth having a very lengthy conversation about the ins and outs of what it means to be a government employee and the general organizational structure of things. "Working for the government" seems like such a mysterious thing, especially for a layperson who thinks of the government as this omnipotent being that knows all and do all. But once you break down the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities of any position, most jobs are, in the end, incredibly mundane. There are likely positions where all that one does is just read emails to either approve or reject a project involving, I dunno, the type of snacks that can be put on vending machines at certain office buildings and where the total vendor bill cannot reach a certain dollar amount. Abstractly discussing (without violating any confidentiality issues, of course) your day-to-day job and describing which agencies you deal with on a regular basis may go a long way to helping you realize how much of a "fucking garbage truck mechanic" you are (a statement which btw got me to LOL IRL).

Sufficient_Bollocks 0

How has she not joined the work force? Here in Australia you generally join at 14.

Tara_ntula 1

Well, you can’t legally work in most states in the US until you’re 16. On top of that, if you grew up middle-to-upper middle class, parents typically encourage their kids to focus on school and not work since the money isn’t needed. Therefore, a lot of American kids’ first work experience is a part-time job in college in order to get extra spending money or an internship.

For those on the lower side of middle class and below, however, they’ll tend to have work experience a bit sooner.

hippi_ippi 20

She seems really... dim. Does she not realise what your job actually is? I mean, I too am just another cog in the giant wheel that is corporate but no one is ever going to think I have any sway anywhere in the company I work at.

AMA454 14

This whole thing had me cracking up. I can just imagine some cute little sorority girl getting pulled over by a cop who had no intention of ticketing her, and then thinking she “got out of it” by name dropping the city’s mechanic. 😂

Tell her that all these people asking you favors is going to get you in trouble, and that you’re being made fun of. Remind her that you literally can’t do anything but basic auto maintenance

huammaye 12

Tell her that for every person that calls you because she gave them your number to "help," you're going to pass on her number to some dude you work with that she doesn't even know. It's not cool for her to give out your contact info to people you don't even know.

And tell everyone who contacts you, "GF said I could help? That doesn't sound right. Didn't she tell you I do vehicle maintenance for the city? I don't know why she'd think I could help with government matters. You must have misunderstood what she said. Why don't you talk with her and sort that out."

jednorog 14

"You must have misunderstood what she said" is kind of rude, and also false. The people contacting OP understood what GF said perfectly. GF was just lying. Don't throw the blame for the "miscommunication" on the random other folks!

(Other than this I wholeheartedly agree with you!)

FiveDollarSoccerBall 12

Man normally I'm not one for ultimatums but she's seriously power tripping on her boyfriend being a garbage truck mechanic for Pete's sake. You gotta sit her down and say straight up that she has to knock this off because it's getting ridiculous.

demoncat1 10

Lol true to form half the comments here are telling you to dump her...

I just think she’s being ridiculous, and you should absolutely reiterate that it doesn’t just go for cops, but for anyone when you tell her not to use your name for things.

I also liked someone’s idea of just telling as many people who contact you as you can stand you’re “just a fucking garbage truck mechanic” (😂 btw) it would probably just take saying that once to a person on her board before that person told their president and they ignored her next time she tries to use your name.

So yeah, she’s being weird but might have something to do with the favors their family got growing up from her dad being a detective like you said. I also think it’s a sign she thinks you’re the shit, even if she is trying to use that to make herself seem important, she’s bragging about you. Idk that’s sort of a good thing wrapped in horrible execution. If things are good other than this I would just work on fixing this, but maybe that’s just me. I don’t see her odd behavior as a deal breaker

MinkySquirrel 5

good thing wrapped in horrible execution

That phrase right there very elegantly describes how I also see this situation.

​

cokeiscool 9

Is she a big fan of parks and rec?

On that show everyone in the government pretty much knows each other and maybe she thinks it works the same for you?

Id explain to her just because you work for the same government, you dont know everybody because it is a big government

SelectAirline 8

It’s like asking the guy at the Apple Store to get an inside view on their Board of Directors.

You laugh, but I wouldn't be surprised if they gets asked about that on occasion. I used to work for one of the big box stores and you'd be amazed how many people thought that I had an inside connection to the CEO or that I had influence over advertising. I even had one person ask how often I was in touch with the Nascar driver that the company sponsored.

BalancetheMirror 1

Reminds me of the America's Best commercial with the owl spokesperson talking to a cable repair guy up a pole, telling Cable Guy his company charges too much. Cable Guy: "Yeah, that's not my department, dude!"

aj4ever 8

She's 21 and using you.

pussypilot_1 8

This isn't cool. My boyfriend is a physician and I have tried to make it clear to him and to everyone that he is my boyfriend and not my doctor. I have made it clear to my family that my boyfriend is not their doctor. Yes, he is a physician in his professional life but he is so, so much more than that.

You are so much more than your job. Does she like the idea of dating an older man who she thinks will carte blanche take care of her? She needs some hard and fast boundaries. Put some up and see how she responds. If she can't handle it, break it off.

fairfire 6

I’d be concerned she is going against her word. It’s an integrity thing.

jakobdee 5

she’s telling everyone her bf “works for the government”

BalancetheMirror 1

Obviously because he always leaves for work in a tux with his martini shaker. ;-)

staedtler2018 4

Get angry at her.

A lot of people need an awareness of consequence to change their behaviors. Especially younger people, who've probably never faced an issue like this, and tend to assume that apologies after the fact are always enough.

queen_rezin 3

tell her you got fired. you'll find out quick how important your "connections" are.

LesFleursduMal1974 3

She sounds immature, selfish, manipulative, and she's repeatedly ignored and disrespected your direct request that she stop doing this. It's all a display of poor character, and what you see now, you can expect more of in the future.

Perhaps you can extricate yourself from this entitled child and find someone more humble, genuine, and hardworking, like yourself.

dick-dick-goose 3

She knows you're "just" a mechanic. She's embarrassed by that, and is trying to preemptively form a narrative to define the situation to her friends and family. I'm sorry to say this to you.

arbalete 1

Then why would she name drop him to a cop?

Gabrieldengelul 3

She is using your work as a status boost for herself, she knows you can't do these things but she can brag about it her fantasy.

talettingherknow 3

This is just a possibility but do you think your girlfriend might be more interested in/attached to your job than in/to you?

bzwack 2

It is a little hilarious tho. Girl seems crazy

ohdannyboy2525 2

Imagine the kind of name dropping she would do if you were one of the Apple “geniuses”.

pawnchmeharder 2

yo, could we get an update if anything happens? I hope things work out as well as they could

Scruffy42 2

Just out of curiosity, in your town do Police get pissed at Fleet for not being able to magic cars into existence?

happytimelogan 2

You already told her, she knows... you don't need to repeat yourself

Give her more rope, let her promise and spout your name to anyone and everyone and when you it doesn't work, just deadpan "I told you so, my work has nothing to do with xxxxx...."

While it may sound embarrassing to have your name thrown around all over town, it can't lead you to being fired, think about the worse case scenario, some cop comes to your work and says "I'm told you have authority to pardon xxxxx" or something like that, you just say "obviously I don't, I don't understand how it's come to this and I'm sorry for any confusion caused, I've explained to her what I do be she just doesnt get it".

She'll get it when none of the things she's promised on your behalf come true.

Honestly it sounds like she thinks your being modest but all she hears is my boyfriend has the key to the city and won't hear any different.

tongue_tiedx 2

Wow. My boyfriend also works for the city and knows a lot of people in different, some higher level, departments. I never once thought to use his name as leverage or to try to get something to benefit me. I'd be embarrassed to even try.

The fact that your girlfriend is not respecting your request is telling. Maybe you should bring her to your job to put a clear idea that you don't have some secret relationship to every city department.

Vilento 2

Its like the girl thinks this dude is Chaz from Futurama. Who's Chaz? The mayor's aid, that's who. He can't fail the mayor, not ever. Also he'll cover you on the next health inspection for free bread at a restaurant.

JaunxPatrol 2

This is inconsiderate of her in that it could impact your jobm and frankly pretty naive. But it does seem like she's proud of you which is cute

nizzoball 2

I had this same type of issue when I worked for my city as a parks a Certified Pool Operator years ago. I took care of the most visible park in the city and had a generally great relationship with the police but aside from the fact that the same city manager had his name stamped on our checks, I had no influence over them what so ever but that didn't stop a couple people from trying to drop my name a few times for various reasons. I asked them, "what the fuck am I going to do to them? Turn the temp down on the pool next time they swim?"

​

Stupid people

Keowaii 2

Sit down and have a serious discussion why she shouldn't do that. Tell her that she will need to let her friends know what your actual job is and that you cant help.

If she doesn't then you'll need to tell her friends no.

DmusB 2

This is unintentionally funny, made my day

Greengiant123456 2

Oh i got a ticket, can I use your name to get out of it?

smartimarti_ 2

This to me is so funny!!
I would guess that it makes her feel special to have a man in her life who is there for her, and wants everyone to know. It is a little bit immature, sure, but someone else who said she won’t understand until she’s out of school and working herself is probably right...in the other hand, this may just be how she operates.

JerkKazzaz 1

Here late but wanted to say, it seems to me like someone has been telling her all about the power of networking. One clue on where this could be coming from lies in all the phone calls you've gotten from her sorority sisters.

andonebelow 1

I mean, I can see why this is annoying and if you’ve told her to stop she should respect that. But don’t you think it’s also kind of adorable? She thinks her boyfriend’s a big shot and she’s so proud she can’t shut up about you.

Kind of reminds me of Lesley Knope dropping her boss Ron Swanson’s name. Her boss was the head of the parks department and know one knew who that was, but she thought he was the most impressive person in existence.

Yes it’s silly but I think you could chose to let it slide if she’s otherwise a good egg.

arbalete 1

She's not just talking about him though, she's trying to use his name for her benefit. You don't think that's worrying?

ajd660 1

Nothing wrong with making your parties adult only. My circle of friends did the same thing after all of the kids started misbehaving. I have both a 10 year old and 10 month old so there are times I can't make the parties myself even though I would never allow my kids to do what you described. If the parents can't control their kids then they should either find a baby sitter to watch them or just opt out of coming to the party.

BalancetheMirror 1

Psst...different post :-)

ductoid 1

Can you get a few of your coworkers in on the joke here to help you out?

Have them start calling her. "Hey, my name is Pete. I work with Agreeable_Ground. The city was thinking of holding a fundraiser for a new playground, and he said we should call you, that sororities plan and run fundraisers all the time. Can you organize something for us on January 17?"

Ajs1004 1

Sounds like she is using you.

kaktussen 1

Does she know how a city is managed and how the different departments fit together? This seems so silly, that I have a feeling she have no clue, that you're not sitting down to eat lunch with the mayor everyday. Could it perhaps help, if you showed her an organisation diagram?

Holdinipartyofone 1

Your girlfriend seems pretty selfish in this respect. This is a huge red-flag.

Treemags 1

This was incredibly entertaining. Thank you

floriletto 1

Dude that is incredibly funny and hilarious. Ignore all the drop her, she got issues comments.

Have fun with this and see how far she takes it. If you are really adoring this woman such a miniscule thing would not be an issue. If it is see if there is not more behind it on your side.

You two could have an amazing chuckle about this.

There might be the option she is not the smartest cookie too.

Up to you to decide :)))

pgbabse 1

Ask her if she would still be with you if you weren't this important.

JoeHumon 1

Did you ask her why she thinks you can pull all these strings?

subject1991 1

Okay but why does this sound like the premise/plot/whatever to a really hilarious movie?

No advice for ya, you've already told her and she must learn to respect your boundaries.

lemonprim3 1

That’s so embarrassing

weehaven77 0

You know what youre going to have to do now!!

Change your name, but dont tell Em..

Lol

Khaleeeasy -1

Hear me out here, but these comments are harsh. She promised she wouldn't name drop you to get out of tickets. She hasn't done that. All she did was hope you could help out her sorority with a recommendation or introduction. She might be misunderstanding what you do, but she didn't bring it up to someone you work with or otherwise put you in a weird situation. If anything it puts her in a weird situation when you don't deliver, at which point she'll figure out to stop. But those are wildly different scenarios.

I have a friend launching a startup. I'm a financial analyst. I only deal with public equities, I know nothing about startup investment or anything about capital structure in small private companies. She doesn't know that because she's not a financial analyst. I still help her out when I can. Maybe, idk, try helping her out and not being weird about it? The cop thing was weird and shitty. The sorority thing (moreso the zoo thing vs the code enforcement) is normal favor asking, IMO.

dumbledorable- -1

Do you love her? It’s been 4 months

dms2701 -1

You ran into the exact same cop who brought his car into your garage? Wow.

kattannus -2

Break up with her, because you need somebody that will treat you better, and will treat you with respect.

roaring_rubberducky -2

I’m fairly confident you live in NYC?

Agreeable_Ground 6

Right-sized city, but we’re on the opposite coast.

RealisticSandwich -4

First of all, you are very important, because fixing garbage trucks sounds like it could be very smelly and gross.

Second of all, I actually find this kind of cutely annoying. She thinks you're a big deal!

Agreeable_Ground 2

Eh, a little dirty, but not too bad as long as the driver empties the truck before they bring it into the shop. We’ve had a couple incidents that resulted in a huge-ass pile of garbage in our shop.

hot-ramen

Maybe she’s using you? Sounds immature tho

juicyavocado

Sorry to say this OP but as far as your girlfriend goes it doesn't seem like she's the sharpest tool in the shed. And on top of that she can't follow the simple direction of "Stop name dropping me, I don't have the connections you think I have". And on top of that (!) she isn't respecting you. I'd say it's time for a sit down to lay out this issue and let her know this is not OK. Time to put your foot down. She could potentially make people think you're lying if it is brought up to your boss.

komodokid

It's also a values thing. My mom was forever trying to get my dad to get us kids internships and job offers and such, but he just didn't think like that. I feel like it offended him on some level, and the moms got it after a while, but still would complain like "if only your dad wasn't so honest!"

Great life lesson, mom (athough sad to say she's kinda right, the world we live in does not favour honesty as much as we like to think).

Humble-Sandwich

You actually had access to the cop who puller her over. Name-dropping you in that situation was not a bad play. Cops let people off just cuz they know someone all the time.

johndecoded

Doing those sorority girls a favor might be worth a shot. They just might return it, iykwim.